| Abstract: |
Purpose: Expand firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework to systematically address social determinants of health (SDOH) in their communities and improve firms’ performance (FP). Gap: The U.S. healthcare system has struggled to improve population health outcomes while enhancing delivery performance. An oft-overlooked contributor to this deficit is SDOH inequities, accounting for 25–60% of deaths in the USA annually. Ironically, most healthcare firms do not view investment in SDOH, a neglected phenomenon, to develop sustainable healthy communities as their direct responsibility due to the “wrong pocket problem.” Although extant literature theorizes the CSR construct, there is a paucity of research on SDOH integration with the CSR framework. Design: We integrate a quantitative and qualitative study with supplementary literature on CSR and SDOH using the grounded theory method by researching fourteen health plan firms across the USA. Findings: Research reveals early efforts undertaken by top-performing healthcare insurers to address SDOH and provides evidence that such measures can be integrated profitably under CSR as a competitive advantage. Originality: Contributes to CSR theory and practice by providing an empirical model and expanding its framework to address SDOH systematically. Key implications are as follows: (1) healthcare firms to link with unconventional partners, such as housing authorities, food banks, employment agencies, and schools; (2) the entire healthcare supply chain to collaborate with social enterprises and regulators to develop sustainable communities; (3) policymakers must incentivize firms to align social equity and corporate goals; and (4) long-term view on CSR, SDOH, and healthy living (HL) will in-turn eliminate social inequities while enhancing FP. © 2023, W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute. |
